Cruise Reviews

Our travel agent recommended Princess and we chose it because the travel dates worked the best for our schedules. This was our first cruise. We took a train from Denali to Whittier where we boarded the ship. The train ride was long but ... Read More

Our travel agent recommended Princess and we chose it because the travel dates worked the best for our schedules. This was our first cruise. We took a train from Denali to Whittier where we boarded the ship. The train ride was long but comfortable and scenic. Embarkation went smoothly. The muster drill was delayed so we had to eat a hurried supper at the buffet. The ship seemed old and outdated. Several times we smelled a sewage type smell. The pizza was good but the other dining venues were underwhelming. We ate in the dining room once for breakfast. It took 45 minutes to get our food and it was cold. The butter wouldn’t even melt on the toast. Most of the food on the menu was the same food offered at the buffet. We ate at the Bayou Steakhouse and the steak was tough. The food at the buffet was just ok. Nothing was hot, just lukewarm. There was not a lot of variety in food options. Our cabin size was adequate but the furnishings were outdated and worn. The bathroom was small and there seemed to be a leak behind the toilet. There was a magician/comic who was pretty good. There was another comedian that was not very good. We played several of the trivia games and they were fun. The White Pass Railroad in Skagway and 5 glacier seaplane tour in Juneau were our favorite excursions. We did not enjoy Ketchikan that much and our bear watching excursion was the most expensive one we did but was also the least enjoyable and biggest waste of money. Disembarkation was smooth. Read Less

This was our first cruise and it was a little disappointing. My expectations were sorely not met.
The embarkation was very confusing. We were not given any direction upon boarding and were handed papers without any explanation. When we ... Read More

This was our first cruise and it was a little disappointing. My expectations were sorely not met.
The embarkation was very confusing. We were not given any direction upon boarding and were handed papers without any explanation. When we asked what we were given the crew stared at us like we were crazy. We had to find our cabin on our own as the crew just pointed to the elevator and said "go up to 8".
Our cabin was not turned from the previous guest. The room had hair that wasn't ours everywhere and dirt on the ground. Our steward tried their best but I don't think they understood what we were trying to convey. We were pleasantly surprised by the size.
Overall the food wasn't what we were expecting. We were expecting interesting food that we couldn't get anywhere else. It was mediocre at best. There was a good selection of vegetarian options. The pizzeria was probably the best. It was also difficult to get drink orders outside of sitting at the bar. The International Cafe was the most consistently good service and food.
The public spaces were nice and the themes were interesting.
The entertainment was not what we were expecting. We were expecting multiple different types of entertainment but there wasn't any. There was one theater show and 2 comics the whole 7 days. Most of the activities were during the day while in port, and in the evening it was just sales pitches or musicians performing in the bars. A lot of the interesting things overlapped and you had to choose what was more important, movie under the stars or the comedian or eating dinner, you couldn't do it all.
Lastly the crew... some that were nice and greeted us every time we walked by but there a lot of rude interactions. Multiple times the front desk where the interaction was aggressive and rude. I called to ask if the coupon book was delivered to our room and the crew member repeatedly told me the book was "redeemed "and that I "needed to look better". When I walked down there the extremely rude staff told me again that the book was redeemed and then proceeded to call and yell at our steward. The front desk forced our steward off his break and come talk to us which cause our interaction with him strained and uncomfortable the rest of the trip. The worst was the Medical staff. They made my mother feel as though she was being punished for being sick due to the food and would not explain anything.
The only saving grace of this cruise was the fabulous weather and scenery. Read Less

We were two families with three kids total, ages 15, 14 and 9. Having read some of the recent negative reviews, we kept our expectations low but they were all greatly exceeded. From the moment we stepped on the ship, the staff members ... Read More

We were two families with three kids total, ages 15, 14 and 9. Having read some of the recent negative reviews, we kept our expectations low but they were all greatly exceeded. From the moment we stepped on the ship, the staff members were friendly and helpful. Because it’s such a small ship, many of them got to know us personally and addressed us by name. We found the ship in great condition and very clean with crowding only in the dining room, food court and during major entertainment options and tours. For the most part, the ship felt pleasantly uncrowded. There were lots of comfortable indoor seating areas, both within the venues and in the walkways, to view the scenery indoors. I also enjoyed daily walks on the Promenade deck when conditions allowed.
We had a mini-suite with a balcony on deck 10 that easily seated 4+ people and we opened the door so that it adjoined to the balcony of our travel companions, which made coordinating plans and hanging out very easy. (Bring bungee cords or duct tape to secure cabin door open if you plan to do this.). We spent a lot of time on our balcony and, when that was too cold, on the aft deck on deck 10 which was less affected by the wind and had comfortable lounge chairs. The bed was very comfortable but the pillows were too high for our taste. The sleeper sofa was quite uncomfortable with a hard bar in the middle and it sloped down from foot to head. Our amazing steward, Robert Orena, solved the bar problem by bringing a second mattress to put on top which he stored behind the sofa each day. We solved the sloping problem by reversing the head and foot of the bed.
The food in the main dining room for dinner was better than expected. There were some amazing items, many very good items, and just a few misses which are likely chalked up to personal preference rather than poor food quality. Service was efficient and our head waiter got to know our personal preferences very quickly. The breakfast menu in the main dining room was a little disappointing in its limited choices so we only ate there one day. The Horizon Food Court had plenty of options each morning to make us all happy for breakfast. For lunch, we had the most amazing wood-fired pizza at the pizza day at Sabatini’s. We wished we could have repeated that! We also really enjoyed the pub lunch at The Bayou. The International Cafe is a great place to get a nice speciality coffee or high quality snack or dessert 24 hours per day. They also have a full bar.
Regarding the children and teen clubs, the 9 year old enjoyed many themed activities at the kids club and the 14 year old boy, who loves gaming, enjoyed the teen club. The 15 year old girl, who does not enjoy gaming, didn’t frequent the teen club.
The adults’ favorite entertainment on ship was the Crooners Lounge piano bar which we attended each night. Don Juan was a great musician with a varied catalogue and great personality. The servers there were also very fun and attentive to us and to our children when they joined us. We also enjoyed some of the trivia contests as well as the Voice of the Ocean contest.
The days in Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay were both amazing! We were very close to the glaciers and had great weather for viewing the scenery. A light puffy coat or similar was required, but it was very pleasant. They also have blankets for passenger use on the top deck. In Skagway, we rented a car and drove up to Emerald Lake and Carcross. It was a great day despite the strong, frigid winds. Our whale-watching trip in Juneau was canceled due to rough conditions so we just toured the town briefly. In Ketchikan, we had to use a tender to get into town which was a more cumbersome process. We enjoyed a walk up to the salmon ladder and along the boardwalk there. While there were a few unique shops, for the most part the shopping seemed the same in all three ports and very similar to any other tourist town.
Embarkation and disembarkation were both extremely efficient. It took us less than 30 minutes to get from check in to our rooms, although the luggage came much later. We did a self walk-off with our luggage. We left our room at 7:50 a.m., walked to the dining room meeting place, then immediately off the ship and to a waiting taxi. We arrived at the Vancouver airport by 8:40 a.m.
Each family had the 4 device Medallion internet package which we purchased at a good price pre-cruise. (I think it was $105 for the week.) For the most part, it could not handle video streaming but we were always able to text each other through iMessage and could easily download and reply to emails and access basic web sites. Read Less